From the Woods!
by BettyLouisePlotnick
Summary: AU Naomily. Emily is a zoology student who aspires to be a wildlife conservationist. For work experience she decides to volunteer for a conservation group in the rainforests of South America, and there she meets a beautiful and charismatic ornithologist, Naomi. As the summer progresses the two develop a strong friendship, or is it something else?
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings fanficcers. **

**I hope you enjoy this first chapter of my Naomily story, I'm not sure if I'm going to carry on writing it, this is the first time I've tried my hand at writing so I'm not so confident I'll be any good. If you feel like reviewing then I might reconsider ;) (no hints there or anything). This is only an intro really, just kind of setting the scene but if I continue, it'll get more juicy, pinky promise. Anyway, enjoy :D**

**I do apologize if there are mistakes by the way, which there probably are.**

Emily bit her bottom lip nervously and ran her fingers through her messy hair for about the millionth time. She was standing awkwardly in Georgetown airport waiting for her luggage to appear on the carousel where suitcases had been appearing intermittently for the past half hour.

_Come onnn, where are you? _she thought to herself, getting worried.

After what seemed like an eternity to her, she caught a glimpse of her huge rucksack, sighing in relief when she realized that it was in one piece and that mercifully, her sleeping bag was still tied to it. She'd been growing more and more anxious as she waited, shifting nervously from foot to foot as she anticipated meeting the huge group of people already gathered at the hotel.

The idea of meeting new people scared the hell out of Emily; she was hardly a social butterfly. Not like her sister.

Emily had always been glad of the differences between her and her twin sister, Katie. During their childhood they never spent a moment apart; they were in all the same classes at school, shared a bedroom at home, and were forced to wear matching outfits by their mother. Outwardly they were 'the Fitch twins', not Katie and Emily. Katie had always been the more confident and outgoing twin, and Emily had merely followed along in her shadow. That is until their teenage years, when Emily grew more into herself and developed the confidence to show her own personality. They had kind of drifted apart, made separate groups of friends, established their own interests and followed different paths at college.

Not long afterwards, Emily had come out as gay.

It was something that she'd always known on some level, even when she was a kid, but hadn't had the guts to face. It took the persuasions of a gorgeous and feisty punk girl with a bass guitar to make her realize that life was too short to pretend to be someone else. Her name was Helena, and she and Emily had spent 3 glorious months together before college ended and they went their separate ways. Of course her mother had taken Helena's presence as a sign that Emily was just going through a rebellious phase in her life, there was no way her daughter was a one of those, a _lesbian_. Katie had freaked out at first, worried about her street cred, but soon came round to the idea after finding that her sister being gay was a huge attraction for boys, and decided to take full advantage of that fact. Her dad had been surprised, but supportive.

After Helena had disappeared and Emily carried on being gay, her mum finally had to accept the fact that her daughter really was into girls, tits and fannies as Emily so eloquently put it. But Jenna's animosity towards the idea had remained - something which pained Emily more than she'd care to admit.

A loud screech and a thudding sound brought Emily out of her reveries as the carousel ground to a halt, the last of the luggage had been unloaded and she hurried to collect hers. She hadn't realized how heavy her rucksack was until she'd struggled to get it onto her back. _Urgh, why the fuck did I bring so many clothes?_

She was in Guyana, in the north of South America. She had decided to volunteer in the rainforest for the summer before her last year of uni, to get some more work experience. She was a student of zoology back home, and was **majorly** excited about the trip. She was going to be a research assistant for a wildlife conservation organization, and she had spent the best part of the last year working every weekend and fundraising to bring her here.

Of course that would mean having to meet the other volunteers, who she'd be spending the next 6 weeks with. Her stomach jolted nervously at the thought.

When she walked into the arrivals lounge, still struggling under the weight of her rucksack, she saw a sign with her name written on it. Looking up at the person holding the sign, she was met with kind brown eyes and a warm smile from a man who introduced himself as Freddie, the resident herpetologist of the expedition. Emily took a liking to him immediately, finding him laid back and easygoing, more so than she expected from the person in charge of the whole trip.

'So Emily' he said as drove them to the hotel, 'what made you decide to come on this trip?'

'Well Glastonbury tickets had sold out, so I came here instead…' she said with a smirk, making Freddie chuckle.

'Nah I don't know really…' she continued more seriously, 'at the risk of sounding cliché - I just want to save the rainforest. I've always loved animals and nature, and I want to see the world and hopefully help to stop it disappearing. Conservation is important to me I guess…' she trailed off. _Nice one Emily, you idiot._

'Well you've certainly chosen the right trip.' Freddie said excitedly, 'And don't worry, there's nothing cliché about wanting to save the world, I started out with the same ideas in my head when I was younger.' He said with a wide smile in her direction. She couldn't help but smile back.

Actually, Emily could still remember the moment she decided what she wanted to do with her life, when she was 9 years old.

Her family had been going on annual camping trips for as long as she could remember to a remote spot in the Lake District. They pitched their tent in the same place every year, on the top of a hill overlooking a large expanse of woodland. They would go swimming in a beautiful lake nearby and hike through the woods, regularly seeing deer, wild boar, and even red squirrels. Their family was very active, owing to her dad being the owner of a gym.

These camping trips were how Emily developed a passion for the outdoors. Even as a child she had a wonderful appreciation of the sky, and could sit and stare at its wonder for hours on end. She climbed trees and ran through fields of wild grass and dove in pristine lakes and she had never felt as free as in those moments, when she could feel a physical connection with the environment around her. Her family joked and called her feral when she returned from these jaunts, covered in dirt and bruises and with tangled hair.

This all ended one year when they returned to their usual spot to find the land stripped bare, replaced with a landfill site, where the smell of rotting rubbish permeated their nostrils until Emily felt like she'd throw up. At the lake they found that leachate from the landfill had caused algae to overgrow, covering the surface of the water completely and preventing oxygen from permeating it. Dead fish were floating on top for as far as Emily could see.

She had cried for 3 days straight.

But afterwards she made a decision; _this kind of thing isn't going to stop itself now is it_? So she had become a kind of eco warrior, and worked tirelessly at school to get the grades for a zoology course at Lancaster Uni, where she had been studying for 2 years.

The journey from the airport passed quickly as Freddie and Emily chatted and got to know each other a bit more. Before she knew it they were pulling up outside the hotel in Georgetown where they'd be staying the night before leaving in the morning for a research centre in the middle of the forest. It was around 8 in the evening, and Freddie informed her that only half of the volunteers had arrived so far, the other half being a group arriving from the States at around midnight. _Thank fuck for that_, Emily thought to herself. She didn't fancy meeting a group of 20 strangers all at once; she was socially awkward enough at the best of times.

Freddie led her into the dining room where a group of people were sat around a table playing cards. She felt heat rise in her cheeks as everyone stared at her when they walked in. She was introduced to each of them in turn, and gave them all a small wave before sitting down, glad to be out of the limelight.

'Whodyoo say yer name was again? Mine's Pandora, but ev'ryone calls me Panda instead, cos it's way more fun innet? Arn't you well excited? I can't wait to see a monkey, this trip's guner be totally bonkers.'

The blonde girl sat next to her started talking animatedly to everyone who'd listen. _Christ, is she high? _Emily thought. But despite herself she found Panda's innocence and genuine enthusiasm infectious, and she warmed to the girl immediately.

She was also introduced to the resident entomologist, JJ, a shy but obviously clever guy, who seemed even more socially awkward than she was. She gradually opened up about herself and settled in to the group, finding them all likeable and charming, even Cook, who had propositioned her within seconds of introducing himself. He was forthright, and that's what Emily liked about him.

Emily was starting to enjoy herself, and found that she fit right in with the group. It was nice being surrounded by like-minded people. At home she'd just get laughed at if she started ranting about the plight of the endangered Chinese Giant Salamander, but here that kind of conversation was normal, encouraged even. After a while Cook pulled a bottle of vodka out from somewhere and the regular card games turned into card drinking games. Emily had just downed her 4th shot after losing a round of trumps and was starting to feel quite tipsy when the rest of the volunteers arrived.

'Eh up everyone!' Freddie shouted over the din as a group of 10 people shuffled into the room and sat down at the table next to theirs. They were all on the same flight to Georgetown and seemed to already be well acquainted with each other, and Emily hoped that there wouldn't end up being a divide between the Brits and the Americans. Cook decided to bridge the gap immediately by coming onto a very pretty brown haired girl with mysterious blue eyes and a spaced out expression. Cook got as far as finding out her name was Effy before his advances were knocked back.

'Dunt know what she's missin' aht on dus she Emilio' he said, winking cheekily at Emily as he sat back down. Emily rolled her eyes.

Freddie left them all to go and find the ornithologist for the expedition who'd escorted the Americans back from the airport. Apparently there'd been an error in the hotel's booking system and she no longer had a room for the night. Emily was particularly excited to meet the ornithologist; birds were kind of her forte. She was an avid bird watcher, and could spend hours upon hours with a scope, camera and bird book just watching, listening and identifying. She had become so experienced now that she rarely took her book with her, and could identify most species just by listening to their call or catching a brief glimpse. She couldn't wait to work with the ornithologist on this trip and see what the birds of South America had to offer.

'Everyone,' Freddie said, getting everyone's attention, 'I'd like to introduce you to our ornithologist- this is Naomi.'

Emily turned round in her seat to face possibly the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.

_Holy…what the…fuck…WOW…like...huh… _

Rational thought had left Emily. Naomi was simply stunning. She was taller than Emily, with shoulder length blonde hair that fell down to frame her perfect face, and piercing blue eyes. _Those eyes…wow. _Emily felt her stomach flutter and suddenly felt dizzy, dizziness which she knew had nothing to do with the alcohol she'd just consumed.

Naomi glanced around the room briefly, and Emily's breath hitched in her throat when Naomi's eyes met her own. They really were magnificent eyes; opal blue and crystal clear, they were practically twinkling. Right now they held a mischievous glint, which Emily belatedly realized was because she was openly staring at Naomi, and Naomi had noticed. Emily tore her eyes away.

_Shit Emily, get a fucking grip, she's going to think I'm a complete moron._

She was still chastising herself when Naomi started wandering over to her. Panic immediately set in and a flush quickly crept up her neck and brightened her cheeks almost to the colour of her hair.

'Hi, Emily isn't it?'

'Errr…no…I mean yes! Yeah…I'm Emily.' Naomi seemed thoroughly amused by Emily's jittery state and grinned at her, which made Emily's heart melt and caused a grin to spread across her own face. Naomi's smile was infectious. _I should make her smile like that more often, _the thought crept into Emily's head before she could stop it.

'It's nice to meet you Emily' she said with another smile. 'Listen- I have a favour to ask of you, I hope you don't mind.' _I don't mind. _'You're sharing a room with Pandora, right?' This was news to Emily but she nodded anyway so it seemed like she knew something. 'Well…' Naomi continued, 'the hotel has fucked up my booking and the imbecile at the front desk is no help and since you and Pandora have a spare bed, I was wondering if I could stay in your room tonight?' Emily's internal jaw dropped at the thought but she tried to maintain her composure.

'Yeah, of course, it's no problem, you can stay in my bed-I mean room…you can stay in our room tonight.' _Oh my god Emily_.

'Great! Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver.' Naomi gave her another dazzling smile before heading back to talk to Freddie and JJ. Emily caught herself staring at Naomi's arse as she walked away and mentally slapped herself on the wrist. _You pervert. _She couldn't blame herself though, Naomi was wearing tight fitting skinny jeans and her hip swayed enticingly as she moved- she certainly had a killer body.

_What is wrong with you Em. _She had never felt such an instant and intense attraction to anyone before, it was freaking her out. _It's never guna happen, she's clearly straight, AND she's a researcher and I'm a volunteer-it's not allowed. Not that she'd have any interest in me anyway… _she thought sadly to herself.

_No harm in looking though right? _She thought before glancing back at Naomi across the room, surprisingly, to find blue eyes already looking at her. Naomi quickly looked away when their gaze met.

_Oh yes, this summer is definitely going to be interesting._


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi :) Thank you so much for your reviews. I feel honoured that people even took the time to read it, so yeah, thank you. I hope you like it. Peace out.**

Naomi walked back over to Freddie and JJ with a funny feeling in her stomach that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was either food poisoning from a dodgy looking burger she'd eaten at an even dodgier looking diner earlier, or it was…butterflies? _Nahh, can't be. _Naomi very rarely experienced butterflies, not since last year when she'd caught a glimpse of a Tufted Puffin never seen in Britain before. And there were certainly no Tufted Puffins here.

_Nope, just a gorgeous redhead with eyes I want to drown in. _

_WOAH! Where had that thought come from Nai? You don't fancy girls!_

'You alright Naomi? You look a bit…flustered.' Freddie asked.

Her head snapped up, 'Huh? Yeah yeah, fine…' Her voice trailed off, clearly not paying much attention.

'Are you sure?' JJ began. 'I would have to agree with Freddie that your skin tone is clearly betraying the flushed, sanguine glow that typically betrays embarrassment, illness or sexual arousal. Now, since I know that you aren't easily embarrassed and that there is not much potential for sexual gratification in our current situation, I can only conclude that you're coming down with something, in which case I request that you keep at least 1.5 metres away from me for the next 2 to 4 days and in the meantime, have some calpol. You're never too old for calpol my mum likes to say. In fact, calpol has been known-'

'JJ! Bloody hell mate.' Freddie cut JJ off before he could start weighing up the pros and cons of calpol versus tixylix.

Naomi silently thanked Freddie; she didn't much feel like explaining that her current state was due to the presence of a certain volunteer. A female volunteer at that. Naomi was straight. _Yep, straight as an arrow, I like boys, hairy chests and rough skin and stubbly kisses and penises and dangly balls…_

_She is breathtaking though. _Naomi glanced over to where Emily was sat, looking deep in thought. Naomi couldn't help but admire the way her hair seemed to shine, and her skin seemed to glow, even under the harsh lights in the dining room. _How can she look so flawless after a whole 24 hours of travelling? _Suddenly, she glanced in her direction and their eyes met. Naomi's stomach seemed to drop, and she quickly turned away to scan the room, hoping that it looked natural. _Shitfuckbollockywankshite! Caught perving on a volunteer, just great! I hope she doesn't think I'm a complete freak. _

_Then again, maybe she doesn't mind…_Naomi thought as she recalled the way Emily had been staring at her when she first arrived. She'd **definitely **checked her out; Naomi thought she even caught a glimpse of lust behind her eyes. _I can't believe I have to share a room with her, why couldn't there have been any free space anywhere else? _Naomi had a sneaky suspicion that she wouldn't deal with being in close proximity to Emily all that well.

She was snapped out of her reverie by Freddie dragging her over to sit down with the volunteers to get to know them.

The rest of the night was spent playing cards, drinking vodka and chatting. By the end of it Naomi thought she'd learned most people's names and might actually remember them. _Better than last year when I spent the first 3 weeks of the expedition calling that guy 'chews with his mouth open guy'. Still can't even remember his name now. _

Naomi had been coming on this expedition every summer for 4 years. The first year she had been a volunteer herself, when she was 20. She had made such a good impression that she was invited back as a researcher the next year. When she graduated, she got herself a job at the British Trust for Ornithology, which she adored, but she wanted something more. She had quit her job just a few weeks ago and had accepted a place at Bristol Uni where she was starting in September, to do her master's degree.

By around midnight people had started drifting off to bed. Their minibuses were leaving at 7 the next morning and everyone was pretty tired from the long journey here. Naomi was too wired to sleep though, she loved this expedition, and her excitement had never once dwindled over the 4 years she'd been coming here. She just couldn't wait to get out in the jungle and set up her bird nets. She never ceased to be amazed at the beauty and biodiversity of birds in the tropics. Eventually it was just her, Freddie, Cook and Emily left sat in the dining room. She had been avoiding talking to/looking at/making eye contact with/thinking about Emily all night, but now that there were so few of them present, it was kind of awkward. But Cook's vodka had instilled a bit of her usual confidence back into her. _Fuck it, got to talk to her at some point…_

'So, Emily, what animals are you most hoping to see on this trip?' Emily looked at her and Naomi was glad she was sat down because just that action made her knees go weak. _What is WRONG with you Naomi? Jeeez, get a grip, she's just a girl. A totally smokin' hot girl, yes, but a GIRL. _

'Ermmm, Capuchins would be cool' she said with a shy smile. 'and Tapir as well, but I know that's a bit of a long shot. But what I'd REALLY love to see and I know it's never guna happen is a Harpy Eagle. If I saw a Harpy Eagle I could die happy.'

'Oh my God, me too!' Naomi responded happily, a grin quickly spreading on her face. 'I've been dying to see a Harpy Eagle since I started coming to Guyana, but I never have. It's not fair. They're just so fucking cool.' Harpy Eagles were the largest bird of prey in the world, relatively abundant in Guyana because much of its habitat elsewhere had been destroyed, but still incredibly elusive and difficult to see. They were an ornithologist's wet dream basically.

'I know right! Who knows though, maybe we'll see one this year. 'Cook chimed in with 'Fuck that, I wanna see a jaguar me.'

'Maybe' Naomi continued like Cook wasn't there. 'A friend of mine had a tip off that there are a pair nesting not far from one of the camps. I'm guna take a small group with me to check it out; you get first dibs if you want to come.' Emily's face seemed to light up at that. Her smile grew even wider and she somehow got even more beautiful. _She's so adorable._

'Really? That would be awesome! I'd love to come, thank you so much!' Emily's enthusiasm was infectious.

'You're welcome.' Naomi said quietly as she began blushing for no apparent reason. Emily was still beaming at her and it was making her feel self conscious that she'd had hardly any sleep the past 2 days and must look like a bag of shite.

'So you like birds then?' Naomi asked her after a few moments of awkward silence.

It was Cook who answered her question though. 'Ohhh yeah Emily likes birds don't ya luv? You and me both kid, you and me both.' He said winking at her and grinning like an idiot. Emily immediately blushed furiously, making her skin almost the same colour as her hair. _Why are they being weird? Is he alluding to something…?_

Emily glared at Cook with a look that Naomi never wanted to be on the receiving end of. 'Yes, I love birds.' She said earnestly, her face softening as she turned to Naomi.

Freddie glanced from Emily to Cook, and then back to Emily again. 'Wait…what's he on about? Are you gay, Emily?' Naomi's heart skipped a beat. Emily seemed kind of embarrassed that everyone was staring at her, but she answered confidently 'Yep, gay as a window.'

_Wow, she's totally gay. Not that I didn't have my suspicions, but still. Wow. Why am I so happy about that? _Naomi felt all warm inside. _From the vodka_, she told herself.

'Oh aye, right little muffmonkey this one. Eh Ems ya don't reckon you could film it for us next time could ya?'

'Fuck off, tosser. Looking for tips are we?'

'Oi! I can assure you ladies the cookie monster is more than capable in the sack, I'll show you if ya like?'

'No thanks Cook; I'd rather shag an open wound.' Emily retorted with a smirk.

Cook howled with laughter. 'What about you Blondie? Fancy a go?' _Urgh God no._

'I have to decline Cook, it's against regulations for staff and students to go at it…Plus I'd rather shit in my hands and clap than touch you with a bargepole. No offence or anything.'

'None taken luv, can't please everyone can ya? Let us know if you change ya mind though, cos…' He leered at Naomi appraisingly, 'I'd hit that like the fist of an angry god.' He said with a wink.

'Christ, you really are disgusting.' Naomi laughed, she liked this guy.

'Right, I hate to break up this love fest but we should all get to bed, and since I'm in charge, you all have to do what I say.' Freddie grinned at everyone, clearly relishing being the boss of everyone.

Emily agreed, 'Yeah, I want to get at least some sleep before tomorrow, I must have bags like Tetley's right now. I don't even want to look in a mirror.'

'You look wonderful to me.' The words were out of Naomi's mouth before her brain even registered them, and she mentally smacked herself in the gob. _Why is there no filter between my brain and mouth?! Shit, don't blush, it was just a friendly comment. _Her body ignored her request and blushed anyway.

Emily didn't seem to mind the 'friendly comment', in fact she was positively glowing at the compliment, grinning like a mad woman and blushing down to the roots of her hair. _Well, that could've gone worse, maybe I should say stuff like that more often. NO Naomi, she's a student, get a grip._

'Christ, get a room will ya, and invite me along for the party, or at least take my video camera, I've got a tripod and everything, you-' Cook was cut off by a slap to the back of the head from Freddie.

'Goodnight ladies.' Freddie said as he dragged Cook off, still grumbling and rubbing his head.

And then it was just the two of them.

The tension in the room seemed to have increased ten-fold, and neither girl knew what to do about it.

'We should get some sleep, early start and everything…' Naomi offered lamely.

The awkward silence stayed as they were ascending the stairs to their room._ This is horrendous, I hope I didn't freak her out by saying she looked wonderful, where did that even come from? Not that she doesn't look wonderful of course, because she does, even know, from this angle…_Naomi was walking behind Emily on the stairs and was eye-level with her arse, which was, admittedly, perfect. Naomi was brought out of her musings by Emily addressing her. 'Sorry what did you say?'

'I said I hope you don't snore. I might have to smother you in your sleep if you do.' Emily said jokingly.

'Ah shit, sorry, I have severe sleep apnea. You're just guna have to put up with me all night. I've been told I sound like a wounded warthog in its death throes, so good luck with that.'

Emily chuckled, 'Yup, you're definitely getting smothered. Now how could I make it look like an accident? Hmm…' Naomi chuckled along with her, the earlier tension between them gone. _She's funny. And she likes birds. She's cool_. Naomi concluded in her head, and decided to make an effort to get to know her a bit more._ A decision which has nothing at all to do with how incredibly attractive she is of course._

They arrived at their room eventually and both snorted with mirth as they opened the door and heard Pandora snoring like a roaring lion. 'Guess we'll both have a hard time sleeping tonight-' Naomi was cut off when she walked in and saw that there was only 1 bed left for them both. Pandora was asleep in a single, and they had a double. _Oh crap._

'Well, looks like we're sharing then.' Emily said with a smirk, as she grabbed her toothbrush from her bag and headed to the bathroom.

_Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap._

Naomi changed into an oversized t-shirt and a pair of boxers while Emily was in the bathroom, all the while dreading the night to come. _I barely know the girl, and now we have to share a bed! And it's not even a big bed, we're going to be really close. Like, touching nearly. This is bad, really bad. Shit shit shit. _

Emily came out of the bathroom wearing a pink onesie with a cow pattern on it. _A onesie, really?_

'A onesie, really? How old are you again?' Naomi teased. Although she thought Emily looked super fucking cute in it, and there weren't many people she could say that about while wearing an adult onesie.

'What?! They're comfortable, and warm.'

'Oh yeah, that's what you're guna need in neotropical climate, warm PJs. You're guna be boiling tonight, and I don't need no radiator sleeping next to me.'

Emily had no retort to that, so just stuck her tongue out at Naomi instead.

_She's so cute._

When Naomi returned from the bathroom, Emily was already lying in bed. Right in the middle of the bed.

'Oi, budge up will you.' Naomi flashed her a smile.

'Sorry, I didn't know which side you liked, so I took both.' Emily replied, moving out of the way so Naomi could climb in.

When they'd both settled down, the tension between them returned, punctuated only by Pandora's occasional snorts. Naomi was lying flat on her back, rod straight with her hands folded above the covers, completely uncomfortable.

'Bloody hell Naomi, you look like Nosferatu, relax will you, you're making me nervous.'

Naomi let out a small laugh and just like that, the tension dissipated. She rolled onto her side to face Emily and suddenly had the most overwhelming urge to lean over and brush those full lips with her own. _Now that was a very gay thought Naomi. Okay so _maybe _I'm not 100% straight… _Admitting it to herself didn't feel as scary as she thought it would. It felt good. It felt right. _Okay so maybe I like this girl…_

'I can't believe you're wearing a onesie.'

'Oh fuck off.'

_Yup, this summer is certainly going to _very_ interesting._


	3. Chapter 3

Naomi awoke the next morning feeling blissfully comfortable and rested. She could feel the sun's rays creeping over her body as it rose through the open curtains, and she was experiencing the peaceful feeling of waking up naturally after a rejuvenating sleep. As her senses started coming back to her, she tried to remember the dream she'd just been having. She could vaguely recall a flash of bright red and the feel of warm flesh under her fingers. _It had been a great dream_, she thought wistfully as she tried to remember the details, but they slipped away like water in cupped hands. She smiled lazily and stretched out on the bed, or she _tried _to stretch; she was met with resistance in the form of a hand being held by her own. Her eyes snapped open.

_It wasn't a dream. I'm holding Emily's hand. Shit._

She was properly awake now, and began to assess the situation in front of her. Emily was lying facing away from her, and Naomi was _totally spooning her!_ Her leg was carelessly draped over Emily's sleeping form, and her arm had been thrown over her, their fingers loosely intertwined. Naomi had been nuzzling the back of Emily's head, and she realized quickly that the flash of red in her dream had been Emily's hair that she'd had her nose buried in. _How the hell did we end up like this? _What made the whole situation even more inappropriate was that Emily had either knowingly or in her sleep, unzipped her onesie and kicked it down to the end of the bed, where the rest of the covers happened to be strewn, and was lying in front of Naomi wearing only her bra and knickers.

She could feel Emily's soft, even breath on their tangled hands, indicating that she was still fast asleep. Naomi couldn't help but rake her eyes over Emily's almost naked form. She was so breathtaking. Her skin was milky white and flawless, with an occasional freckle. Naomi could count three on her arm right in front of her, several on her legs and one on her hip, right above where her knickers ended. _That's my favourite._ She had a sudden urge to run her fingers over it, to commit the texture of it to memory, and probably would have if her only free hand wasn't already occupied by Emily's.

Naomi mentally chastised herself for even thinking that. She flopped back down on the bed to consider her next move; she didn't want to wake Emily and have to explain the situation they were in, but she wasn't sure how to go about extracting herself without waking her. _Plus I'd rather just stay like this forever._

Her face had been brought back close to Emily's hair with her movements and she took the opportunity to nuzzle her neck again, relishing the soft skin she found there and the scent of apple shampoo along with a more earthy scent that could only be Emily's own. She loved that smell already. Emily let out a soft 'Hmmm' sound in her sleep that sent a wave of contentment flowing through Naomi.

_How is it possible that this can feel so right? _Naomi was by no means homophobic or anything; she'd grown up in a very liberal household and thought that attraction was just that, attraction, whether it be to someone of the opposite or same sex, or anywhere in between. But she'd never considered that she could be gay. She'd had boyfriends in the past and had been intimate with them to a certain extent, but she'd never felt anything like this before. As a general rule, she hated sleeping with other people because she usually woke up with every small movement they made; snuggling all night was out of the question, and to be honest, Naomi had never really wanted to do that anyway. She'd slept soundly last night though, in fact, Naomi couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a good night's sleep. And she'd spent at least a good portion of the night wrapped shamelessly around Emily's almost naked body. This kind of thing was a novelty to her. She'd never experienced this level of comfort and intimacy with anyone before, _and attraction_ her mind tacked onto the end of that sentence.

_Because there's no denying it anymore, I fancy her. I really, really fancy her, a lot. _

Before Naomi's brain could process this revelation any further, Emily started stirring in her arms.

Naomi panicked._ Crap! What do I do?! Should I pretend to be asleep? Shit, no it's too late. Oh my God she's going to think I'm a total perv._

Naomi started trying to untangle their hands quickly before Emily completely woke up and freaked out, but she was interrupted when unexpectedly, the redhead's grip tightened, pulling Naomi even closer to her and she snuggled further back into her, bringing Emily's back flush against Naomi's front. The feeling was exquisite, and she didn't even bother to resist.

'You know I'm pretty sure this kind of thing is against the code of conduct.' Emily mumbled sleepily.

'I know right, you're so inappropriate.'

'Mmm, what? From what I can deduce, YOU'RE the one cuddling ME. Pervert.' Naomi decided in that moment that Emily's just woken up voice was somehow both the sexiest and most adorable thing she'd ever heard. It was husky and low and sent shivers down to the very core of her being.

Coherent thought was a thing of the past so the only comeback Naomi could manage was a grumbly 'Piss off' as she let go of Emily's hand and swung her legs off the side of the bed to get up. She missed the contact with her as soon as it was gone.

Neither of them was quite sure what to do now. The silence between them stretched on for miles.

After the awkwardness had gotten so tangible that she was sure it would soon take corporeal form, Naomi announced that she was going to take a shower before practically running to the bathroom.

As soon as she shut the door behind her she leaned against it, letting the coolness of the wood calm her down a bit. _'_What are you doing Nai?' she whispered to herself. She knew this thing with Emily could not possibly end well. After standing for a while under a very cold shower, she felt a bit better; calmer, collected, and less like a hormonal teenage boy.

She toweled herself off and put on a fresh vest top and shorts. When she came out the bathroom she found Emily sitting on the edge of the bed (mercifully fully clothed again) looking over at a slumbering Pandora.

'She's like a sleeping angel isn't she?' Emily said with a smirk.

Naomi glanced at Pandora and snorted hysterically. Pandora was lying flat on her back with her head tilted up, mouth wide open and drooling slightly. It was a sight to behold. She silently thanked Panda for unwittingly breaking the tension between her and Emily. She picked up her wristwatch from the bedside table and checked the time. 'You'd best get ready Ems,' she said, the nickname slipping out naturally from between her lips, 'breakfast is in 10 minutes.'

'Okay.' She replied, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Naomi repacked her bag quickly and headed to the door with it before turning back, 'Oh, and don't forget to wake sleeping beauty.' She said with a grin towards Panda. Emily let out the most gorgeous little laugh that made Naomi's heart swell.

As she was heading back downstairs, she thought about how they'd woken up earlier and what Emily must have thought of it. She didn't seem freaked out or uncomfortable, like Naomi expected, and she smiled as she remembered the way she'd brought them closer together, and the way her body had fit perfectly against her own. _Still, probably didn't mean anything to her, best just let it go._ She thought, knowing that they'd probably never speak of it again.

Naomi spent the rest of the morning rushing around and stressing out making sure they had everything they needed for the trip. Freddie was no help, _he's the one meant to be sorting this crap out, not me. _But of course, Freddie was far too laid back to get worked up, he figured everything would work out.

By the time they were ready to leave it was already half 7 and they were running late, and Naomi's stress levels had peaked when a Canadian guy whose name she couldn't remember had lost his passport. She ended up yelling at him, red-faced and fuming until everyone made an effort to search for it, eventually finding it on a chair in the dining room. She knew the incident had probably made all the volunteers either a) hate her or b) be intimidated her, but she was too stressed to care. _Someone's got to run this fucking trip_ she thought as she puffed furiously on a fag and shot daggers at Freddie and JJ, who were currently showing a magic trick to Effy. She could tell just by looking at them that they both wanted in Effy's pants, and she didn't want to have to deal with that on the trip. _You're a hypocrite Naomi Campbell_ her subconscious berated.

She was brought of her musings by a small and gorgeous voice behind her, 'Are you okay, Naomi?' Emily placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and her worries seeped away immediately, and were replaced by a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

'Yeah I'm fine thanks Emily, just a bit stressed at the moment. I'll be alright when we get there though.' The redhead smiled warmly at her, and she couldn't help but smile right back. _How does she do that? _Naomi knew that she was a bit hot-tempered, and when she was in the middle of a bitch fit, God help anyone who tried approaching her. But Emily had just brought her out of it with a single touch and a smile.

'How are you, Ems? Looking forward to the ride?' Naomi wasn't surprised to hear genuine care leaking into her voice when addressing this girl who she'd known for about 8 hours.

'Oh God no, I get _incredibly_ travel sick, I'm kind of dreading it actually.' Uh-oh. Naomi immediately felt a rush of sympathy for her. The journey was at least 10 hours, and the road to the research centre wasn't paved; it was going to be a bumpy ride for Emily.

'Aww, that sucks.'

'I know right.'

'Not for you I mean, for the people sat near you. Try and stick your head out the window when you're spewing your guts, okay?' Naomi gave her a grin and sauntered off, hearing Emily mutter 'Cheeky bitch' under her breath as she went.

'I heard that!' She shouted behind her.

'You were meant to!' Naomi laughed as she clambered into the van. The staff were riding in a small flatbed truck which was holding most of their bags. The volunteers on the other hand, were riding in tiny cramped minibuses, and she didn't envy them at all. She knew the suspension on them was shite, and she felt a twinge of guilt knowing Emily would be feeling crap after about an hour of driving, while she was in the relative comfort of the truck.

'What's got you in such a good mood?' Freddie asked her as she settled down in her seat, 'Last I saw you were giving that Michael guy a good bollocking.' _Ah, so that was his name._

'Nothing really, I'm just excited to get there.' She smiled; it was technically true, even if it wasn't the whole truth.

They had been driving for about 2 hours when they stopped for their toilet break, and to stretch their legs. The road was just as bumpy as Naomi remembered and she rubbed her sore arse from where she'd been bumping up and down. She immediately lit up the last fag in her pack, savouring the nicotine rush, as she knew it would be her last for the next 6 weeks; cigarettes were hard to come by in the jungle, and she was trying to quit. She wandered over to the minibuses, checking with the drivers on her way that everything was going smoothly. She'd seen one of them stop briefly on the road behind their truck as they were driving, but she didn't know what for. She soon found out as she mingled with the volunteers. She found Emily sat meekly on the ground by the side of the road, and she looked ill. The colour had drained from her face completely, even her once rosy lips were pale, and her hair hung limply around her face. Naomi sat down next to her and brought a hand up to her forehead to test her temperature; she felt clammy and hot.

'Emilio's been like a dog wiv her head out the window the whole way 'ere aven't ya luv?' Cook had wandered over to them. Emily didn't seem able to form a response.

Naomi felt a surge of affection for the girl then. She leaned over and wrapped her in her arms, feeling powerless to ease the distress Emily was obviously going through. She soon felt her return the hug though, as she leaned her head against Naomi's shoulder and nuzzled into her neck, sighing loudly at the same time. Naomi rubbed her back in smooth circles and resisted the urge to kiss her on top of the head.

All too soon Freddie was calling her back to the truck for them to keep going.

'Stay here, I'll be right back.' She murmured quietly to Emily.

After a few quick words with Freddie and the tantalizing offer of spending the next 8 hours cramped up in the back of a bus with Effy, she'd convinced him to swap seats with Emily so that she could sit in the truck with her. 'Thanks Freds.' She kissed him sweetly on the cheek before walking back over to where Emily was sat unmoving.

'Naomi…' she began with a pained expression on her face, 'you'll have to go on without me, leave me here, I can't get back in that bus…please, don't make me.' Emily looked and sounded so pathetic but utterly adorable that Naomi couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

'Come on you, get up, you're coming with me.' She said, grabbing Emily by the hands and pulling her to her feet.

'Where are we going?'

'You're riding in the truck with me. It's a lot less cramped in there, you'll be more comfortable, and it's slightly less bumpy than the buses.'

'Oh, wait, I thought there was no more room in the truck?' Emily stopped her, forcing Naomi to turn round and look at her. _Damn those eyes. I wish she'd stop looking at me with those eyes._

'There wasn't; I pulled some strings.' She replied nonchalantly, and carried on walking.

'Wait…' Emily pulled her round to face her again with a soft expression of gratitude in her eyes. 'Thank you, Naomi.' She reached out and squeezed the blonde's bare upper arm gently, letting her fingers linger there for a moment.

'No biggie. Besides, I'd much rather have your company than Freddie's…' she said with a twinkle in her eye, 'but don't tell him I said that or I'll have your guts for garters. Now come on, let's go.'

She marched them back to the truck and bungled Emily inside, making sure that she got the window seat in case she needed to stick her head out of it again. They were soon on their way, and after a while Emily seemed much more content with this mode of transport. They were all involved in a rather dull game of I-spy (there's only so many times you can say 'something beginning with T – tree', before it gets boring), when Emily scooted a bit closer to rest her head on Naomi's shoulder. Naomi automatically let her face drop down and caress her hair with her cheek. It felt like the most natural movement in the world to her.

'Sorry for being so gross and probably smelling of sick.' Emily said to her quietly.

'Don't worry about it, you'll smell worse after a few weeks camping in the jungle, believe me.'

'You're supposed to disagree with me, bitch.' Emily chuckled into her shoulder, sending pleasant vibrations through Naomi's body. Naomi gave an over exaggerated sniff of the air around her.

'Ems, you smell of something, and it aint roses.' Emily retaliated with a playful whack to her leg.

'Ow! Christ woman, you know I'm a staff member right? You can't treat me like this without severe repercussions.'

Emily lifted her head, looked Naomi directly in the eye and said with a quirk of her eyebrow 'Oh? And what _severe _repercussions would these be exactly?' They looked at each other for a few moments before both bursting out laughing. 'Okay, that sounded WAY less dirty in my head.'

'Yeah right, perv.'

They continued their banter for a while before Emily fell silent, and Naomi was pretty certain she was falling asleep. She and Emily were certainly getting along. _Not only is she absolutely stunning, but she's also hilarious and witty and clever and we get on so well – how can anyone possibly be so perfect? Am I completely smitten or what?_

Emily shifted in her seat to get more comfy, bringing her legs up to rest on the dashboard and once again leaning her head against Naomi. Emily's hair tickled her skin, making goose bumps appear all over her and at that point, Naomi decided that yes, she was completely smitten. After a while Emily scooted even further down her body and rested her head on Naomi's thigh. Naomi froze at the contact. Emily's head was very close to a certain special place and it was making her nerve endings feel on fire.

'Sorry, do you mind?' Emily asked, making a move to get up.

'No, not at all.' Naomi managed to squeak out.

'Thanks. I feel less sick when I'm lying down.'

'Just don't throw up on me though, okay? Otherwise there'll be some more of those severe repercussions.'

'I'll try my best.' Emily said before closing her eyes.

They'd been sat like this for a while and Naomi had been absentmindedly staring out of the window when she realized that she'd also been absentmindedly running her fingers through Emily's hair on her lap. _It's so soft_. Emily had the most peaceful, beautiful look on her face that Naomi felt like crying all of a sudden. _What is wrong with you?_ She asked herself for the gazillionth time since meeting Emily for the first time. Naomi took this opportunity to commit every detail of her face to memory. She was fascinated by the way her long eyelashes curled softly, and the way the bridge of her nose sloped softly up to her forehead, and the way her hair fell softly around her soft face. That was what Emily was: soft. _I bet her lips are soft too. _Naomi sighed and turned to stare out of the window again, all the while continuing her stroking of Emily's hair.

Emily slept for most of the rest of the journey. It broke her heart to have to wake her briefly when they stopped for their next rest, but Naomi really needed to pee. When they climbed back in, she was pleasantly surprised when Emily settled right back down in her previous spot.

They finally arrived at the research centre a few hours later and Naomi climbed out, stretching her legs and cracking her back as she went. It felt wonderful to be back here, kind of like coming home. She took in her surroundings with an appreciative stare. The research centre was situated on the bank of a vast river, and was surrounded by dense forest on its other three sides. At this time of year in the wet season, the water level rose so that the river almost came up to the porch of the centre, and there were always waders and other water birds wandering around close by. There was a central lodge that was circular in shape with a domed, thatched roof, and contained the dining room on the second floor, and there were smaller tourist lodges dotted about that contained the sleeping quarters. It was very picturesque.

Naomi always appreciated the noise at this place. There were no cars, no motorways, no coffee machines or elevator pings, no people rushing about and shouting, no dogs barking, but it was never silent. There was always a bird screeching nearby, or a cricket chirping, or a tree frog calling for a mate, or a howler monkey far off in the distance. She closed her eyes and listened for a few moments. There was a Screaming Piha close by, she noted as she heard its familiar call.

She felt someone come and stand next to her. She opened her eyes to find Emily surveying the river in front of her with nothing short of wonder in her eyes. As they stood there, a pair of Scarlet Macaws flew over head. 'What do you think?' Naomi asked, watching Emily take it all in.

'It's beautiful.' She said after a pause, her voice thick with emotion. 'Absolutely beautiful.'

Naomi kept her eyes on the girl stood beside her. 'Yeah…beautiful.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Sorry for the massive delay in posting this. I've been SUPER busy. Third year of uni is kicking my arse right now. I'm starting to think I'm not cut out for this fanfiction stuff, it's hard! Anyway here's chapter 4. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot :)**

'It's beautiful…Absolutely beautiful.'

Emily was captivated. Stretched out in front of her was nothing but peaceful, serene river, glowing orange from the sun's setting rays. Naomi quietly agreed. She smiled contentedly and closed her eyes as the sun dipped below the horizon. _I could stay in this moment forever._

It made a nice change from the busy, chaotic and not altogether pleasant day she'd just had. _I'm so glad we're flying back to Georgetown_ she thought as she recalled how she'd been whacked in the face by a low branch as she'd hung her head out the window of the mini bus. Her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she'd eaten nothing since this morning and that the remains of her breakfast were currently splattered on the road about an hour outside of Georgetown.

'Ems, I think the dragon in your stomach is hungry.' She turned to smile broadly at Naomi. 'Come on, let's go get dinner, I'm starving as well.' She said, turning away from her.

'Naomi wait…' _I don't want to go. '_Erm, thank you, for today, for helping me. You didn't have to, and I really appreciate it.'

'Don't worry about it, all in a day's work.' Naomi replied, flashing her a grin before turning and walking back to the research centre. 'Don't forget your head torch.' She said over her shoulder to Emily. 'And put your boots on, we need to get everyone ready to unload the trucks after dinner.'

Emily had forgotten until that point that Naomi was a staff member, and she was just a student. _So stupid, Emily_. It had been ridiculous of her to think that Naomi had helped her out today because she liked her, she'd have done it for any other student, it was her job; she even said so. Emily shivered slightly as the temperature dropped. The sun had now disappeared completely behind the horizon, and it had gotten dark in a very short space of time. She couldn't help but feel a bit dejected as she traipsed back to the research centre.

Her mood was lifted however when she entered the dining room. It was huge and open plan, more like a massive balcony than a room. This, of course, meant that anything could fly in and out at will, with no barriers to stop it. At the moment Emily had walked in there were mosquitoes, moths and other insects buzzing round the electric bulbs on the ceiling, having been attracted by the light, and there were at least a dozen bats swooping in and out to catch the insects from the air. They were literally flying over their heads and on more than one occasion Emily felt one rushing right past her head, ruffling her hair. _This is awesome! _ She thought as she sat down with Panda, a huge grin plastered on her face.

'Alright Ems! This is pretty whizzer innet?' She almost shrieked, her excitement getting the better of her. She continued before Emily could respond 'This is Thomas, he's got a scholarship at Harvard! He's well clever!' She said gazing at the boy sat next to her. Emily had said hello to him briefly last night but hadn't had a chance to speak to him yet. He was tall, dark and handsome, and seemed to have an honest face and genuine smile.

'Hello Emily, so nice to meet you.' _That accent…wow. You're a lucky girl Panda. _Emily had noticed the way Thomas stared at Panda with adoration in his eyes.

'Likewise, Thomas.' She said, smiling warmly at him before settling into the animated conversation they'd previously been having about donuts.

After dinner they unloaded their bags and allocated their sleeping arrangements. The boys were all sharing one big dorm, and the girls had been split into small groups to take the smaller rooms and lodges, while the staff were staying in the luxury tourist cabins. Emily was staying in a tiny room with Pandora and Effy, and had bagsied the top bunk as soon as they'd walked in. When she was younger, her and Katie had shared bunk beds, they'd argued and fought profusely over who'd get the top bunk, and Katie **always **won, so it felt like a nice change to get her own way for once. She was glad she was sharing a room with Panda, but Effy…she wasn't sure of. She didn't quite know what to make of the girl. They had spoken briefly a few times and she seemed nice enough, but her eyes were constantly guarded and it freaked Emily out. She had always prided herself on her ability to figure people out, to know what they were thinking or feeling without having to ask, but Effy was a closed book. _Plus she's always staring, it's like she's looking into my soul when we make eye contact._

Everyone went to bed early that night, exhausted from their long trip. Emily lay awake for a while though, either because she'd slept so much on the journey and wasn't tired, or because she couldn't switch her mind off. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the image of a certain blonde haired beauty out of her head. She was there every time she closed her eyes, imprinted on the back of her eyelids – hair shining, skin glowing, eyes glinting in the sun. She was magnificent, but even the imaginary Naomi in her head paled in comparison to the real one. Imaginary Naomi in Emily's head was joined by Imaginary Emily, and Imaginary Naomi's smile lit up at the sight of her, immediately seeking out Imaginary Emily's lips against her own. _Stop, Emily, this isn't helping _she told herself. She eventually fell asleep to the sound of Panda's snores from the bunk below, and the soft thunk-thunk of a moth flying against the light outside their cabin, and the image of soft blue eyes playing over and over in her mind.

The next morning Emily woke up early to take a very cold and very unsatisfying shower. The water at the research centre was an off brown colour and she subsequently came out feeling dirtier than when she went in._ Slightly more awake though._

Emily had not slept well. She'd been way too hot the whole night and had woken up covered in sweat on more than one occasion. That, coupled with incessant mosquitoes buzzing around her ears constantly had left her in a foul mood. She grumbled as she scratched viciously at her left butt cheek which had somehow received the brunt of mosquito bites_. _She grumbled even more as she tried in vain to drag a comb through her knotted hair, before giving up and pulling it into a bun, accepting that she'd just have to look like shit today.

Since she had some time to kill before breakfast, she decided to explore a little. She wasn't technically allowed to leave the perimeter of the centre and enter the forest alone, _but just walking around was okay right? _She slapped on some insect repellent and left the student accommodation, turning right towards the river. She could feel morning dew cool against her feet as she strolled down the lawn to the river bank. Emily relished the quiet of the morning, before everyone else had risen; the peace of it washed over her making her feel immediately calmer. She knew it was probably against the rules to walk around bare foot in a place like this but she threw caution to the wind and kicked off her sandals anyway, burying her toes into the wet grass and sighing contentedly. _I like it here just as much at sunrise as I did at sunset_ she thought, thinking back to the previous evening when she'd stood in the same spot, admiring the view with Naomi. _I wish she was here now._ A small, sad smile crept onto Emily's face at that thought. She stood for a while longer and watched her shadow grow longer in front of her as the sun rose steadily behind her.

She was just thinking about heading to breakfast when she heard her name being (very loudly) whispered from somewhere behind her.

'Oi! Emily!' She turned round and found Naomi crouched behind the fence of the vegetable garden, gesturing for her to come over. Her curiosity was immediately piqued.

'Fucks sake Em I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes, are you deaf?' Naomi whispered, only half joking.

'What the fuck are you doing Naomi, planning a morning cabbage raid?'

'Don't be ridiculous, they don't grow cabbages here. Look.' Naomi pointed through a gap in the fence.

Emily couldn't see anything at first, but then saw a brown shape move through the shrubs at the other end of the garden. _What is that? _Emily was intrigued.

'Red-rumped Agouti.' Naomi answered her unspoken question, looking quite pleased with her find.

It was about the size of a rabbit, with long and powerful hind legs, but looked more like a giant rat than anything else. It was foraging around in the grass, unaware of their presence, and Emily found it rather charming with its dexterous little paws and beady eyes.

'Awww, it's so cute.' Emily squeaked out as the Agouti stopped and began to clean itself. 'You think I could get it past airport security?'

'With Freddie's research permits you can get anything past airport security, trust me.'

'Sounds like you're speaking from experience there…do tell.'

Naomi laughed loudly and the Agouti spooked and ran off into the undergrowth. 'That's another story, not one for the innocent ears of a naïve young volunteer.' She said mischievously.

'Oi you're like three years older than me, don't pull that crap.' Emily said indignantly as they got up and began walking back to the centre.

'Yeah but I'm very mature for my age I'll have you know, and you clearly have a mental age of about 10. So that makes me like 20 years older than you.'

'Yeah you can tell an'all, those wrinkles really give you away.'

'Har-de fucking har.' Naomi grumbled, and Emily couldn't help but grin at how adorable a grumpy and slightly offended Naomi could be. _Whoops, best fix this._

'Just kidding.' She replied.

Yeah?'

'Yeah…it's your saggy tits that _really_ give you away.'

For that Emily received a well earned thwack on the arm.

At breakfast, Naomi sat with JJ and Freddie while Emily went to sit with the other students. She ended up sat next to some American called Kristian who she took an automatic dislike to, although she was sure Katie would have loved him. He was the kind of person who gave off an air of arrogance and self-confidence that Emily usually avoided like the plague. He had blonde, perfectly styled hair and well-trimmed stubble that most girls would fawn over, but Emily just found annoying. She also noticed that he flexed his biceps every time he moved and said the word 'like' at least five times in every sentence.

When she took her seat, Kristian was in the middle of what Emily suspected to be a bogus story about how he became captain of his school's basketball team by scoring five shots in a row from the halfway line, and he seemed unaware that nobody was really listening. Cook caught her eye from across the table and smirked as they both had a silent laugh at the guy's expense. After he'd finished Cook began his own story about how he'd knocked out Mike Tyson with a single punch, and Emily snorted loudly into her coffee, trying and failing to cover it up as a cough. Kristian shot her an indignant glare.

Thankfully they were saved from that awkward situation by Freddie standing up and announcing their schedule for the day. They were to have some introductory lectures in the morning and a practical on how to set up their hammocks in the afternoon.

When breakfast was over everyone moved downstairs into the classroom, where JJ was busy setting up a projector. Emily noticed Kristian glance at her and smirk, before whispering something to the guy sat next to him and she was suddenly paranoid. _Arsehole, _she thought and resisted the urge to flip him off.

As Freddie began talking she began quickly jotting down everything he said; there was SO much to remember. First there was the obligatory health and safety shit. Take your malaria tablets everyday, wear insect repellent, don't walk around bare foot, always wear boots after dark, check your shoes for creepy crawlies before putting them on, check for ticks regularly etc. etc. etc. The list of things that could go wrong was endless. Then Freddie got onto his subject: Herpetofauna. The number of species they could find in the area was huge, and Freddie wasted no time in listing all of the venomous snakes that could possibly kill you lest you accidentally stand on it in the dark.

JJ then went on to talk passionately about invertebrates and what they would be looking for. At this point Emily had to poke Panda who was sat in front of her and had fallen asleep with her head on Thomas's shoulder. JJ spoke at length about the number of dangerous invertebrates in the jungle. There were Brazilian Wandering Spiders - the most venomous spider in the world, tarantulas with urticating hairs that could stick in your skin, bullet ants with the most painful insect bite in the world (so named because it feels like getting shot, apparently), white-ass wasps, centipedes, bot flies (whose larvae grow underneath your skin), ticks blah blah blah.

This was all very interesting to Emily but the heat in the room was almost unbearable and she was starting to feel quite sleepy. She'd stopped making notes on the signs and symptoms of certain diseases you could get and was just hoping someone else would point it out to her if she did actually get any of these diseases.

She was very pleased when JJ shut up and Naomi began her talk on bird life in the area. Naomi was going through the different kinds of birds they might find and how to recognize them and tell them apart from each other, but Emily already knew it all after endless hours of internet research and purchasing a book called 'Birds of Northern South America'. So instead of listening she zoned out and began unabashedly staring at Naomi. _Because it's okay to do that, everyone else is staring at her. Just probably not in the same lustful way I am. _She was undeniably beautiful, even in the blazing heat and glare from the projector screen. Her hair was tied up and a few loose strands were plastered to her forehead with sweat, but Emily somehow found even that attractive on her. She watched as a bead of moisture formed at the base of Naomi's neck and slowly travelled down her back and beneath her vest.

_Oh what I wouldn't give to be that bead of sweat, you lucky, lucky bastard. _

_Wow I'm a perv. _

Emily snapped her head back up to Naomi's face and tried to concentrate again. Naomi was in the midst of talking very animatedly about a bird called the Amazonian Royal Flycatcher, and Emily was sucked into those blue eyes as they lit up happily. If there was one thing Emily wanted to do in life it was to be the cause of that brightness in her eyes, even just for a second. _I wonder if there's anything else she's so passionate about._

Naomi was now playing them recordings of different bird calls and giving tips on how to distinguish them. She really was extremely knowledgeable, and Emily was totally turned on by her intelligence.

They broke for lunch after Naomi had wrapped up her talk, which everyone seemed quite relieved about. Three hours in a stuffy, cramped room is never much fun, but Emily could have easily sat there for another three hours if it meant more opportunities for Naomi watching.

After shoveling down some sort of bean and rice mixture, they were led out into the forest by the Amerindians for one activity Emily was secretly dreading; hammocks. Emily was not particularly talented when it came to complicated physical activities. When she was younger her family had refused to let her help pitch their tent during camping trips after she had accidentally pinged her mum in the eye with a guy rope. She viewed their hammocks and mosquito nets with some trepidation as they were being shown how to clear an area with a machete. _A fucking machete?! Someone is definitely going to die on this trip if they make me use one of those. _They were next told how to tie their basha (a piece of tarpaulin to stop them getting rained on), and how to thread the hammock through the mosquito net, before being told to go off and try it on their own.

Half an hour later and Emily was not doing well. First, she had picked two trees that were far too close together so that her hammock dragged on the ground. Then she had picked two trees too far apart. Then she had had a paddy and given up briefly before seeing Kristian, topless, all muscles rippling, tying his hammock off with a flourish, and decided that if that oaf could do it, she most certainly could too.

She was attempting to tie one half of her hammock up when Naomi turned up. Emily was deep in concentration; brows furrowed and sweat dripping down her forehead, desperately trying to stop her hammock from falling down for the fourth time. She didn't notice Naomi until she felt a warm breath on the back of her neck as she reached up behind her, to tie the rope for her. Emily would usually have felt disgruntled at the insinuation that she couldn't do the task herself, but she was far too distracted by Naomi's presence so close to her, and the feel of her breasts brushing against her back to form coherent thought.

'You're not using the right kind of knot.' Naomi murmured into her ear as she finished the knot triumphantly. Emily shivered slightly despite the blistering heat in the forest. The chills Naomi's voice had sent running up and down her body rendered her speechless.

'Hey, you alright Em?' Naomi asked with concern as she stepped away slightly, bringing Emily back down to earth as she did so.

Emily turned around on the spot and was brought so close to Naomi's face that she could count the flecks of darker blue surrounding the ice blue of her eyes, and Emily didn't think she'd ever seen eyes so pure and beautiful. She got lost in them for a moment before glancing down to Naomi's slightly parted lips, knowing that this would be the closest she'd ever get to them.

'Emily?'

_Shit. _'Yeah?' She responded finally, more than a little embarrassed.

'Thought I'd lost you for a sec then. Did you see the way I tied that knot? You have to get it tight enough that it doesn't slide down the tree.'

'Umm, yeahh, thanks.' _Why did I just say yes, I have no fucking idea how she tied that knot. How can I concentrate on tying knots when she's so close to me?_

'Right, well get going on the other side then.'

'Oh, yeah! Okay.' _Shit shit shit shit shit._

Emily moved to the other side of the hammock, trying to ignore the hint of amusement in Naomi's eyes. _Right, what did she do? Uhmm, she got this rope and made a loop and pulled the other rope through…right? _Emily watched as the ropes fell away and her hammock fell down once again. Naomi was full on laughing at her now, and Emily tried to shoot her best death stare but couldn't quite manage due to Naomi's laugh being so exquisite.

'Sorry! Sorry, it's just…' Naomi broke down with another round of giggles before composing herself.

'…You just look like you're trying so hard.'

'Oh shut the fuck up Naomi, this IS hard!'

'Chill out Ems, it's cute.'

_Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute. Cute. _Emily rolled the word around in her head and forced herself not to break out in a massive grin as she tried the knot again. Naomi was wearing a lazy smile and it only served to distract Emily more.

'Fucks sake! I give up!'

Naomi walked over to her and her feeble knot and looked her straight in the eye, making Emily's heart stop briefly.

'You can do it, Emily. You can do anything.'

And she seemed to genuinely mean it. Hence, so did Emily.

Naomi went through the knot again more slowly for Emily to follow, and finally after a few more minutes, Emily managed to keep the hammock off the ground.

They tested it gingerly with their weight to make sure it wouldn't fall down, before settling next to each other and rocking back and forth gently. Emily couldn't help but relish being pressed against Naomi in the middle of the hammock. Her skin was smooth and left tingles where it met Emily's own. It was actually quite comfortable, and she relaxed as they observed other people struggling with their own hammocks. There was a light afternoon breeze drifting through the trees making her feel sleepy, and their basha provided a degree of shade, and Emily suddenly found herself completely content. It shouldn't have come as much of a shock when she realized that she would rather sit in comfortable silence with Naomi than she would socializing with most of her actual friends. _When did I become such a sap? And when did I become so bloody infatuated with this woman?_ She would have been angry at herself for falling so fast for an almost complete stranger, who was also completely out of bounds, but the tingly sensation of Naomi's hair brushing against her shoulder in the breeze was more than enough to make her feel at peace with the world. She was brought out of her ponderings by Naomi's voice:

'Good thing you managed to get this thing up, otherwise you'd have ended up bunking with me when we got out to camp.'

Her voice was soft and tired, and her head came down to rest on Emily's shoulder as she spoke. Bolstered by some unknown source of confidence, Emily decided to just say what she was thinking.

'I don't think that would have been such a bad thing.'

'Yeah?' She felt Naomi smile into her shoulder.

'Yeah.'

A few moments passed before Emily only just heard a tiny, sleepy reply.

'Yeah…me either.'


	5. Chapter 5

**It's a bit late and everything but happy new year everybody! I hope you're having a wonderful 2013.  
Oh and also, I changed the title of this fic because I completely rushed the old title. This title isn't loads better but I'm rubbish at them. It's from the title of a James Vincent McMorrow song that I really like so check it out if you wish :)**

Naomi was awoken by an irritating beeping somewhere by her head. She fumbled around under her pillow for a while where she found her wristwatch and pressed all the buttons on it until it stopped its incessant noise. She cracked open an eyelid and checked the time; 5:30am.

_Urgh fuck that. _She rolled over and buried her head inside her sleeping bag in an effort to block out the rising sun. She had only managed to get to sleep about three hours earlier, after she'd been forced to spend the best part of an hour looking for a Brazilian Wandering Spider in the boys' dorm which they swore they'd saw scurrying along the floor. In the end she'd had to give up the search and tell them to get the fuck over it because they'd be dealing with them all the time out in camp. _Boys can be such pussies sometimes. Freddie's dealing with it next time they have a paddy._

She was prevented from falling back to sleep by a loud rap on her cabin door. _Ahh speak of the devil and he will appear._

'Naomi, you awake?' Freddie's voice was far too loud for this early in the morning.

'No, go away.' She practically snarled back to him.

'Aww come on mate, you said you'd come and do herps with me this morning.' _Shit, completely forgot about that._

'Fine, I'm up, I'm up.' She conceded, unzipping her sleeping bag and clambering out with a distinct lack of grace. She quickly threw on some shorts and walking boots and headed outside in search of coffee. The heat hit her like a train on a track as soon as she opened the door. It was barely dawn and it was already blisteringly hot. _Today's going to be a long day,_ she thought as she made her way towards the research centre.

Naomi felt distinctly more human after a mug of instant coffee and a blissfully cold glass of guava juice.

She sat with Freddie and JJ eating a plate of scrambled eggs as they went over the schedule for the day. Today was the last full day they had at the research centre before heading out to camp tomorrow afternoon, so they had a lot to fit in. She was to go out this morning with half the group and Freddie, looking for frogs, lizards and snakes, while JJ was to take the other half out and search for spiders and insects. They weren't really expecting much in this area of forest; it was just more to get the students used to the surveying techniques before they started the real serious stuff. After this, Naomi was to show everybody how to set up mist nets which they would use to catch birds and bats. She hated this part because it usually took at least three attempts before people started getting the hang of it. And, to her annoyance, Freddie had decided to set up an afternoon of 'team building exercises' that she thought sounded like a pile of shit to be quite frank.

She told Freddie this without bothering to conceal her disapprobation.

'Oh don't be such a grumpy twat Naomi, it'll be fun.' He replied.

_For whom, exactly? _'I just don't see the point, it's fucking roasting outside and we've got enough to be doing before tomorrow without having to fanny about with problem solving crap.'

'Well actually,' JJ began, 'team-building exercises have proved to be quite useful in terms of communication, adaptability, decision making and planning. They also help to improve productivity and break the ice, so to speak, in new settings.'

'Exactly!' Freddie chimed in, 'give us a chance to...get to know each other better.' He said this with a perceptible glance in Effy's direction, and Naomi rolled her eyes at the puppy dog look on his face. Her attention was immediately distracted towards Emily, who was playing cards with Thomas. _Her hair is down today._ Naomi had been trying to avoid looking at her all morning in an effort to dispel the inappropriate thoughts she'd been having for the past few days. It didn't work, and she couldn't help but notice now adorable she looked wearing an expression of concentration as she peered at her cards.

'Right, fuck it, come on then. I want to get out there before my mosquito repellent is completely sweated off me.'

The morning passed by quite uneventfully after that. They saw no herps on their herp walk, which came as no surprise, but they did spot some toucans perched in a tree so Naomi and Freddie taught everyone how to fill in their tracking sheets with the right information. This included their transect number, how far along the trail they were when the animal was spotted, its distance away from the trail, the angle from the trail, how many there were, what they were doing etc. The list goes on and on. The students seemed quite unimpressed, but they did discover two mating Cane toads when they got back to the centre which Cook found thoroughly hilarious.

JJ and his group had been on a shorter transect so had arrived back earlier, but they'd had a greater find than Naomi and Freddie. When they walked into the makeshift lab, Effy had a massive, but totally harmless millipede crawling up her arm. She seemed quite enamoured with it.

After a quick lunch, Naomi marched the whole group out onto the lawn to set up the mist nets.

She cleared her throat exaggeratedly to get everyone's attention.

'Right, listen up everyone, what you're about to hear is absolutely vital information. Now as far as I'm concerned, this is the most important part of the expedition. The _only _important part of the expedition in fact. No offence JJ but I couldn't give a fuck about dung beetles. Birds are what I'm interested in. The mist nets are the first things that are set up when we get to each camp, and the last things to be taken down. You might have to do this in the dark so you'd better get used to it real quick. If you have any problems with it, just ask myself, JJ or Freddie.' She glanced around to make sure everyone understood. She suddenly felt a bit self-conscious when she saw Emily listening with rapt attention.

'Okay, the mist nets work by tangling birds and bats in their weaving when they fly into them. When the nets are set up correctly they're pretty much impossible to see, and completely harmless to the animal. The bigger the weave of the nets, the larger the animal it catches, and vice versa. We have medium nets, so don't expect to be catching any macaws or anything too ambitious. Please be careful with them. I cannot stress that enough. Nets with holes in them are less effective and more dangerous for the birds. Now the good people at ZSL have graciously provided us with brand new nets this year, so if any of you are careless and accidentally rip them, I will piss in your hammock.' She gave them the sternest look she could muster.

'Just kidding, kind of. Okay so let's split into three groups and get started.'

Naomi, Freddie and JJ spread apart with their respective groups of six or seven. Emily was in hers, she noted, and wondered if she'd done that purposely. _Don't be ridiculous brain, shut up and get on with it._

She led the group over to a spot where on the ground where two ten foot long wooden poles, a bunch of twigs with L shaped ends, and the bag containing their net. The mist nets were to be spread out between the two poles like a giant clothes line.

She directed Thomas to try and drive one of the poles into the ground so it was stood up freely on its own. She had always been rubbish at this part because it required strength and good aim to get the pole in the same spot with each thrust, without making the hole bigger than necessary. Thomas proved quite adept though. When this was done, she threaded the loop of one end of the net through the pole and gradually pulled the net out of the bag, untangling it as she went and keeping it taut so it didn't drop to the ground. When all twelve metres of the net was unravelled, she pulled it tight and marked a spot on the ground where the next pole should go, to attach the other end of the net to.

Emily had the task of setting up the next pole, and Naomi was pleasantly surprised to find that she did an even better job than Thomas. She didn't mean to be sexist or anything, but it was rare to find a girl with good enough muscles and tough hands. When she'd done it herself last year she'd ended up with blisters all over her fingers, and the pole fell over as soon as she let it go. She tried not to openly leer at Emily's biceps flexing as she worked. She then hooked the other end of the net onto the pole so that it was stretched out between the two poles. Then finally, she showed her group how to open and close the nets using the L shaped twig things (pokey sticks, was the technical term). Closing the nets meant that they didn't have to take the whole thing down every night, and could just bunch the net up in the middle so that it was clearly visible and easily avoidable. They would also do this whenever it rained because birds didn't do well in the rain and were far more likely to get stressed out and die when wet.

After the net was up, she showed them how to dismantle it properly, by folding the net up into the bag without tangling it. Then, she walked off to the side slightly, sat down, and instructed them to do it all over again on their own.

She grinned happily to herself as they grumbled and set to work.

Taking the opportunity for a break, she rolled up her shorts so they were even shorter and fanned her t-shirt against herself in an effort to cool down slightly. The sun was high in the sky, and she shielded her eyes as she gazed out to the river where its rays made the water's surface sparkle like diamonds. Her mind wandered as she watched her group work. She couldn't stop thinking about Emily and it was starting to freak her out. She felt like her mind had been possessed with images of the beautiful redhead, she was there every time she closed her eyes, every time she slept. She cringed inwardly as she remembered a dream she'd had last night that involved a very naked Emily and strawberries and cream. _Christ, I would get fired so fast if anyone knew what I was thinking. _

Her blatant sexual attraction was the least of her worries though. She found herself thinking about Emily in every other situation too. Like this morning at breakfast, her mind had been permeated by a fantasy of making pancakes with her, then reading the paper together over vanilla soy lattes. There were also a million other things she'd considered that she had no business thinking about, such as which side of the bed Emily preferred, what her favourite kind of flowers were or if she liked them at all, what her favourite book was, and whether or not she'd be able to put up with Naomi's endless obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All this and more had crossed her mind in the four days that she'd known her. _I really am ridiculous, never even been in a serious relationship yet I'm imagining us in domestic bliss together. You barely even know her you silly bint._

She cursed her own stupid brain activity and decided to distract herself by checking on the other groups.

'How you getting on?' She asked JJ as she stepped up beside him.

'Quite well actually. Net was a bit saggy in the middle at first, but we fixed that, and now Kristian seems to think that he's some sort of Adonis.'

Naomi giggled. Kristian had taken his shirt off and was now jamming a pole into the ground as seductively as possible, with every muscle on his torso rippling. _What a dicksplash. _

Freddie's group had had a minor disaster when one of their poles had fallen over but he assured her all was under control, so she wandered back over to her own group to find Emily very irate at the mist net. It had become tangled inside the bag. As precious as a completely frustrated Emily was, she thought she should probably help.

Naomi stepped up behind her and grabbed the bag. 'Hold the net and pull it tight, okay?'

'Okay.' Emily replied. With Emily keeping the net off the ground, she held the bag up loosely and shook the net inside the bag, pulling a small stretch of net out at a time and backing away gradually, encouraging Emily to move with her. She tried to ignore how close she was to Emily because it was distracting and she smelled so wonderful and her bare shoulder was right in front of her and it looked so inviting. She backed off a little and let Emily pull out the rest of the net. When they got to the end, Naomi pulled the pole out for Emily to thread through the loop of the net. When she stood back up they were suddenly face to face and in very close proximity to each other.

'Thanks.' Emily said, biting her lip habitually in a way that, somehow, Naomi found incredibly sexy. She glanced down to her mouth, and back to her eyes. _Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Fuck I hope she didn't notice that._

'You're welcome.' Naomi replied, with a genuine smile._ I need to leave, like, right now. _

'Right you lot,' she called out to the whole group as she turned away from Emily, 'bring it down and put the net away like I showed you.'

After a small break in which they sunbathed and drank ice cold sprite from the tuck shop, Freddie gathered them round for 'team-building.' _Strewth, this is gonna be shit. _

Freddie quickly asked Kristian to put his shirt back on and then made them spread them out in a circle. He brought out a tennis ball and told them they were first going to do a name-learning exercise, in which they should shout a person's name before throwing the ball to them. Naomi sighed audibly and Emily, who was stood next to her, giggled adorably. _This is the most pointless 'game' ever, what the fuck Freddie. Does anyone even win anything?_

Freddie started off by shouting to JJ, who then threw the ball to Naomi, who then threw the ball to Thomas, and it went on like this for a while. Naomi tried in vain to remember everyone's names but she kept throwing the ball to the same people that she already knew, along with a girl called Arsia, just because her name was ridiculous.

'ARSIA!' She yelled and hurled the ball in her direction. Emily almost shrieked with mirth but tried to cover it up with a very fake cough. By this point Freddie had added more balls into the mix, and they were flying about everywhere while names were being shouted left right and centre. Freddie called a stop after Arsia got hit in the head with a fly-away football. Naomi and Emily were laughing uncontrollably by the end of it.

'Right, I think we all know each other's names now then. So, everyone split into pairs and we'll start the next bit.'

Emily was looking at her expectantly so she didn't really have much of a choice.

Freddie gave each pair two lengths of plastic strings, each with a loop at the end. He instructed them to stand opposite each other with a loop on each wrist, but with the strings crossed over so that they were stuck together. The aim was to try and break apart without taking the loops off.

Naomi was immediately stumped.

It was actually quite comical, watching everyone spinning round in circles and stepping over strings and into each other's arms to try and work it out.

Emily was in the middle of trying to fit her hand through Naomi's own loop when someone else figured it out. It was a very complex method involving threading the string through somewhere and then something else, Naomi wasn't really listening, nor did she care; she was too distracted by being so close to Emily and having Emily's hand on her own.

Next they got into groups of four and all stood around a stick holding it up with only their index fingers, and had to lower it to the ground without taking their fingers off. This was a lot harder than it sounds, and Naomi was only pretending to hold it while everyone else struggled. She was getting bored of team-building now, and was desperate for a cold shower.

The final activity was meant to let everyone get to know each other a bit more. They each had to think of three things about themselves; two truths and a lie, and then the rest of the group had to try and guess which the lie was.

Afterwards, Naomi had to admit that it hadn't been such a bad idea after all. She'd actually had a really good time. She'd learned that Emily was an identical twin, which she didn't believe at first because she didn't think it possible for one person to produce two exceptionally beautiful people, and that she played guitar, which instantly made her _even_ more attractive. _I didn't even think that was possible. _She'd also managed to convince everyone that she was a regional kickboxing champion. Everyone except Emily, that is, who steadfastly refused to believe her lie.

The whole thing had ended in tears of laughter after nobody believed Cook when he told them about a particularly obscene tattoo, so he quite happily whipped his cock out for everyone to see. Naomi was halfway between amused and horrified.

That evening, Naomi was sitting in the dining room going over tomorrow's travel schedule when Emily sidled up next to her and sat down, shoving her feet unceremoniously off the chair opposite.

'Hey Ems, what's up?' Naomi asked happily.

'You're the medic, right?' Emily replied.

'Yeahhh, why? Is something wrong?' Naomi inquired, concern lacing her expression.

Emily huffed moodily in response. 'It's my eye. It feels weird. It was all gunky when I woke up this morning and now it's all itchy and horrible. It's gross but will you have a look, please?'

'Of course, scootch forward then. Closer than that.'

Naomi leant forward in her chair and brought her hands up to Emily's face to take a better look. _And also just because I like being close to her, let's not beat around the bush._

She placed her hand on Emily's cheek and gently probed around her eye socket, savouring the physical contact. _Her skin is like silk_. Her eyes were darting around nervously, and Naomi wondered if Emily also felt the tingly sensation she was experiencing all over at her touch.

Naomi grabbed her head torch and leant in closer, cupping the back of Emily's head with her hand.

'Look at me.'

Emily did so and Naomi felt like she was drowning. Her eyes were such a deep mahogany colour that she didn't think any other eyes in the world would ever compare.

Her right eye, however, was quite blood shot and not fully open.

'Hmm, I think you might be getting an eye infection.' Naomi murmured quietly. They were so close together that she could have whispered and still been heard easily. She tried not to think about how easy it would be close the gap and kiss her slightly parted lips. Naomi cradled Emily's cheek with her hand and held her other index finger up in front of her.

'Look at my finger.'

She moved her finger side to side and up and down while Emily followed with her eyes. It was completely unnecessary but Naomi just wanted to keep touching her for as long as possible.

Naomi sighed and let go. She missed Emily already. _How is that right? How can I miss her, she's sat right there? I need to sort my head out desperately._

'You'll be alright, it just seems a bit swollen. JJ has a spray that you can use. He gets pink eye all the time because he works with dung beetles and poop.'

Emily looked indignant at that to which Naomi chuckled. 'Don't worry, it's probably just an allergic reaction or something.'

'Yeah, thanks Naomi.' Emily smiled at her and relaxed back into her chair.

'No problem.'

They sat in companionable silence for a while watching the bats flying around until something occurred to Naomi.

'How did you know that I was lying earlier, about being a kickboxer? Do you not think I'm pretty kickass?' She asked with a smirk.

'Oh no, I don't doubt that for a second! It's just...your hands, they give you away.'

'What about them?'

'They're too soft. You have really smooth hands.' Emily turned a subtle shade of pink.

Naomi glanced down at her hands curled in her lap, she could feel herself blushing. She recalled the morning in the hotel when they'd woken up hand in hand. _I can't believe she remembers what my hands feel like._

'Uhm, thanks.' Naomi stuttered. A short, but awkward silence followed in which neither of them knew what to say.

'Not like mine anyway.' Emily said, holding up her own digits. 'Mine are awful, I have calluses everywhere.'

_I doubt they're anything less than perfect. _Naomi wanted to touch them and find out for herself, but she refrained.

'Oh yeah, from playing guitar eh?' Naomi winked.

'Yep.'

'So, that, combined with being an identical twin, must mean you get all the girls back home I imagine?' Naomi asked jokingly, but also desperately wanting to know the answer.

'Oh yeah, loads, all the time. They just can't get enough, gets a bit overwhelming at times y'know?' Emily answered sarcastically.

'Yeah, course.' Naomi countered with a cheerful smile.

'Why, are you jealous?' Emily teased.

'In your dreams Fitch.' Naomi quipped jovially.

'Yeah, whatevs.' Emily smiled lazily across at her and propped her feet up on Naomi's lap.

_Relax Naomi, it's not flirting. Just...friendly banter. Yep, that's all it is. Nothing else._

She wasn't doing a good job of convincing herself.

Later on, the two of them strolled back to their rooms together with linked arms. When they arrived outside Emily's cabin, she kissed Naomi swiftly on the cheek before murmuring goodnight and ducking inside.

Needless to say, Naomi ambled back to her cabin with a goofy grin on her face, and slept soundly that night with a head full of husky whispers and stolen kisses.

**I could really use some feedback so if you've got time drop me a review, pleeease? :) I have no clue what I'm doing to be honest. What does everyone think of the story so far? What do you think of the whole switching POV thing? Where would you like to see the story heading? Is there anything you'd like to see more/less of etc.? Let me know! Thanks for reading!**


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